Singapore visa issue may hurt IT firms: Nasscom

Information technology (IT) trade body Nasscom on Monday said the clampdown on tech visa by Singapore has shrunk the base of Indian techies to under 10,000 in the South East Asian nation and could hurt the ability of players to chase future deals.

Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar said issuance of visas to the tech professionals under the intra company transfers has “reduced to a trickle” and so for all practical purposes “the tap has been shut”.

“The number of Indian tech workers employed with various companies, are a few thousand now, probably under 10,000, which is inadequate to drive growth of the industry,” he told PTI. The comments assume significance as Indian IT companies use Singapore as a gateway to serve clients in the region. All major Indian tech companies including TCS, HCL, Infosys and Wipro have a presence in Singapore.

“If things don’ t change, companieswill have to look for alternate ways for the region ... for alternate locations,” he said. Indian companies have been investing in Singapore to bolster their presence in the Asian market that has been growing at a strong pace, though the US and Europe continue to account for over 80 per cent of the industry’s export revenues.

With Singapore taking a conservative view of visa issuance to Indian tech professionals, companies are finding it difficult to maintain their level of manpower, “let alone raise” the numbers.

“You can’t maintain it because everytime a visa expires...you just leave and there is no visa renewal that is being issued. So this is where the problem has come up,” he pointed out.